


Red

by fickle_fics



Category: The Hour
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-23
Updated: 2013-08-23
Packaged: 2017-12-24 10:51:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/939107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fickle_fics/pseuds/fickle_fics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The morning after.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Red

**Author's Note:**

  * For [diaghileafs](https://archiveofourown.org/users/diaghileafs/gifts).



Lix awoke to find herself alone in the camp bed in her office, her hand sweeping across the other side and finding it still warm. Rolling over she opened her eyes to find Randall dressing on the other side of the room. She watched him in silence for a few moments then coughed pointedly, reaching down beside the bed to retrieve his red tie which had apparently fallen from the chair where he’d neatly folded the rest of this clothes the night before.

“I assume you’ll be wanting this?” she said, holding it out to him.

“Yes, thank you,” he replied reaching out for it, only for Lix to snatch it away.

“Come and get it.”

“Lix.” He glanced at the door, then at the windows. It was still early and he was fairly sure there’d be no one else from the office in at this time, but he couldn’t help but worry.

She sat up then, slid out of bed, completely naked and moved to where she kept her spare clothes since this was where Lix tended to sleep now, where she’d tended to sleep for months because she felt more at home here than she did in her flat most of the time, and because here she could work until she couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer and just roll into and out of bed again the next morning. Plus it was just easier when dealing with correspondents in different time zones. Under different circumstances she’d have lingered in bed, encouraged him to join her a little more clearly, but the thing was she didn’t want Randall to get caught in this position with her. Oh she didn’t care, her reputation meant little to her - she probably wouldn’t have slept with dear, sweet Freddie in this very same room if she’d given a damn about that, but with Randall it was different. She felt the need to protect him from gossip, though quite whether anyone would be believe he’d spent the night in her office in _that_ way remained to be seen. Still it was better not to risk it.

Buttoning up her shirt she moved across the office and stood before him, folding up his collar and slipping the tie around his neck. She wanted nothing more than to tie it for him as well, but she knew better than to upset Randall’s exacting standards, so instead she simply straightened it then let go stepping back to give him a little space.

“I always liked that one,” she said nodding towards the vivid red material as he turned away, looking in her small mirror to tie it. “I’m not sure why,” she continued. “It isn’t as if it brings out your eyes, no, the silver one does that. I suppose it’s because it’s so… _bold_.” She smiled, it was funny, in some ways he was still so very much like that. _Reckless to the core_. Unafraid to take risks, to speak up and lead the way, yet in others…

She thought of the night before, of the way he’d stilled when she’d kissed him after months of wanting to do so, as if he was afraid to kiss her back, or perhaps just afraid full stop.

“Do you regret it?” she asked, seemingly out of no where.

Randall glanced at her, apparently lost for words, something Lix could only take as a bad sign. He really was the most infuriating man nowadays.

“Right,” she said turning away, back to the bed, stripping the bedding and folding it back up again.

“I’d forgotten what it was like sober,” he said behind her.

“And what was it like?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at him.

“Terrifying. Wonderfully terrifying.”

“You are _much_ more difficult to seduce nowadays,” she said, standing up straight, taking a step closer to him again.

“My apologies.”

Lix shrugged. All men were more difficult to seduce when sober, all people for that matter, but it had never been enough to discourage her. “Yes well I’ve never really gone for the easy life.”

“Quite,” he agreed with a tiny smile.

She moved closer still, fingers running over his tie, tightening and pulling him closer, close enough to kiss him though somehow she managed not to. “You might like to change out of this,” she pointed out. “You wore it yesterday, people will talk.”

“You think people take notice of what tie I’m wearing on a daily basis?”

“I do.”

“Yes well, you always did have an eye for details, didn’t you?”


End file.
